Lately my family has been craving Chinese. Needless to say, with all of our allergies, especially soy, gluten, and peanut, eating out is pretty much off limits. I searched around and finally found a few recipes for things we craved most, and made all of the necessary changes to make them totally Mandie-safe. What an amazing meal it was!!! It satisfied all of our cravings, and Steve even loved the Sweet & Sour sauce. That is huge! The man does not like most sauces or dips or dressings of any type (though my homemade are more and more often winning him over!). As an even better note, since it is all homemade and not deep fried, it is WAY healthier than take out food! See what you think! Mandie loved these so much that she begged for this to be a meal that we take up to WI next week when we go see her allergist! I will do that!
Here is the package of egg roll wrappers from my local Philippine grocery store.
This is what they look like when they are dry. Very stiff and breakable. This is what they look like after they've soaked for 30-60 seconds. Very flimsy and slippery.
To use them, first get out a couple of round cake pans and fill them half full of water. Place a rice wrapper in each pan and soak for 30-60 seconds, until all stiffness is gone. Place on a counter top or cutting board to fill with whatever you choose. I used a mix of cabbage, onion, and carrot that I ran through my food processor and combined with my homemade pork sausage. I seasoned it with Chinese five spice powder.
Here is my filling. I use the medium cookie scoop from Pampered Chef, which is 1-2 Tbsp., and place a scoop along the near edge of the rice wrapper and spread it out a bit.
Next, fold the near edge up over the filling.
Wrap each end up over the middle of the filling, and fold the filing over until all of the wrapper is covering the filling. Place on a well greased baking pan and brush with oil. Bake at 400* for 20-30 minutes til crisp. We served these with Fried Rice and Sweet & Sour Sauce.
Allergy Friendly Pork Egg Rolls
1 package rice paper wrappers
1/2 head of cabbage
1 onion
4 carrots, scrubbed and topped
1 lb ground pork (or any meat of your choosing)
Chinese 5 Spice Powder
Grape seed oil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets well with cooking spray (I use my jelly roll pans). Using a food processor, finely shred cabbage, carrots, and onion. Put 1-2 Tbsp. of oil in a large skillet. Saute shredded veggie mix for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add ground pork and spices (we also used our breakfast sausage seasoning) to taste. Cook until meat is fully cooked. Fill two round cake pans each halfway with cool water. Add one rice wrapper to each pan. Let set for 30-60 seconds until fully pliable. One at a time, remove wrapper from water and spread gently on a cutting board. Place a new one in to soak. Using a medium cookie scoop, place one heaping scoop of filling about 2 inches from the near edge of the wrapper. Spread it out into a log shape. Fold the near side of the wrapper over the filling. Fold up each end over the filling, then gently fold the filling over and over until all of the wrapper is used up. Place on greased baking sheet. When sheet is full, brush rolls with oil, and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until rolls are crispy, turning about halfway through cooking time.
Fried Rice
2 cups white jasmine rice
4 cups chicken broth or water
1 can peas and carrots
2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
2 eggs*
Cook rice in a rice cooker with veggies in the top part, OR combine rice and broth or water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until done. Heat veggies. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add oil, then stir in veggies. Cook for about 30 seconds. Crack in eggs, stirring quickly to scramble eggs with veggies. Stir in cooked rice. Cook for 10-20 minutes to your desired level of crispness. You may stir in soy sauce, coconut aminos, sesame oil, or any other flavoring.
*may be omitted
Sweet & Sour Sauce
6 Tbsp. chicken broth
1/4 cup pure raspberry preserves
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Whisk all ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.
Linked to:
Weekend Whatever Linkup #13
Linked to Allergy Free Wednesdays
